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How Did The Salem Witch Trials Affect The Crucible

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“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller, The Crucible 143). The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a story that illustrates the Salem witch trials that occurred in 1692. These witch trials consisted of people who were falsely accused of witchcraft and twenty of them were executed. Not too long ago in 1954, the McCarthy trials began and took effect on the people. Many people during this time were accused of being communists and as a result lost their jobs and many opportunities in life. Such events flowered from only one simple event. For both of these events there was a process that took place. The process for The Crucible started with affairs, which led to jealousy, which then led to odd behaviors. These “odd” behaviors caused a ruckus within Salem and they believed it to be the effect of witchcraft. We all know what happens next; many people were accused and hanged for something they didn’t do. Now, the McCarthy trials are eerily similar to the Salem witch trials in that it basically repeated history. There was trouble with the Russians and a senator was rising in power, which led to him accusing citizens of the U.S. for being communist spies for Russia. Most of these people were sentenced to jail if they didn’t admit that they were a communist. …show more content…

Many people were convicted, including some of the most innocent people of Salem such as Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. Just like Hollywood Ten, both Rebecca and Martha refused to admit to being witches. But instead of going to jail, they were going to be hanged. This courage led other people who were accused to not admitting either, like Elizabeth and John Proctor. In addition to losing hope, the judges that arrived to Salem threw away any other evidence that supported the innocent. Because of this, they were all hanged without further notice and it wasn’t until after their deaths did the town of Salem realize what they had

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The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.

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What a Horrible World     In today 's day and age we have more technological, medicinal, societal, and worldly advancements than we did in either 1692 or 1947, but we are still just as easily corrupted by jealousy, power, and paranoia. The years 1692 and 1947 are perfect examples of prospering societies that became undermined through very similar processes. In 1629 the Salem Witch Trials and in 1947 the McCarthy Communist Trials- were both held unjustly, involving condemnation based on unfair trial practices. People desperately admitted to being a witch (1692) or to being a communist (1947) only because they didn’t want to die. Even if you were found innocent your life was virtually over because your career and livelihood had been destroyed

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Witches are communists and communists are Witches The world’s most powerful weapon isn’t an assault rifle, machine gun, tank, plane, or even a nuclear bomb. The most powerful weapon ever seen is fear. When fear is installed in the heart of a human or animal, order and logical thinking is entirely forgotten.

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People were so full of fear that they would do anything to eliminate their anxiety. The McCarthy hearings of the 1950s reenacted the hysteria of the Salem witch trials of 1692 by spreading mass fear of prosecution, creating false accusations, and blacklisting people. The Salem witch trials were considered to be America 's most notorious episode of witchcraft hysteria. Many innocent people were killed as a result of false accusations, and many other women were put through trials to determine if they were witches.

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The would also bring droughts, crop failure, smallpox, and native-american attacks (Brooks). The people of Salem were in ruins for years to come before they got back on their feet. The people involved in the trials wouldn’t discuss them openly for

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In history there have been many major events that have shaped the times we live in. Two of the major events of our time are the "witchunts" of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a drama and fictional story of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692-1693. Miller wrote the play as a parable for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.

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When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.

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The Salem witch trials proved to be one of the most cruel and fear driven events to ever occur in history. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and while some got out of the situation alive not everyone was as lucky. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. But the reason as to why Arthur Miller felt the need to write The Crucible in the first place was because the unfortunate reality that history seemed to have repeated itself again. In the article “Are You Now or Were You Ever”, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions.

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about what happened during the Salem Witch Trials. It gives insight about what people had to deal with in this situation and how they handled it. The trials were basically a big test which helped figuring out whether or not people were guilty of witchcraft. This is an example of what a crucible is. In our world today we still have crucibles and even though they are different than back then, they all relate to each other because of what influence they have on people.

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When thinking of witchcraft, one’s mind immediately goes to a woman with green skin, moles, and a pointy nose. Witches stand around a cauldron with their wild hair, summoning spirits or fly around terrorizing those around them. However, as we find out in Arthur Miller’s 1952 play, The Crucible, the accused were anything but. The victims accused of witchcraft within The Crucible were targeted for not fitting the social norms of the time, breaking Puritan code, or posing a threat to someone else. In our world today, we can still see the effects of the Salem Witch trials through accusing those who are on the margins of deeds we don’t want to take responsibility for.

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Out of these accusations, twenty four of them were killed by being hung, and one by being pressed to death. Many believe that most of these witches were burned, but that information is false. Not all of the accused townspeople were killed, due to the fact that they confessed to associating themselves with witchcraft and the devil. To the government, these confessions were a good thing, meaning that the people were now in the hands of god and could be saved. Even though they still never participated in witchcraft.

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The Salem Witchcraft Trials had many effects on the town of Salem, Massachusetts. A lot of the effects were negative, destroying the community, government, even individuals. The Witch Trials affected the community of Salem in multiple ways. The witch trials created many tensions between several families in the town. The most acknowledgeable dispute from the play was between the Putnam’s and the Nurse’s.

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“The Crucible” contains many themes, but the most prominent theme in the play shows that fear and suspicion destroys a community. The character, events, and literary devices used in “The Crucible” help to prove this theme. This theme shows its ugly face many times throughout the story and the fear, along with the suspicion, make the characters in the story act strangely. When the characters act strange, the events in the play intense and interesting to the reader. The literary devices used assist the story’s way the reader feels throughout the story.

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Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.

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